[Preview] UVTools 0.2
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So a long time ago (probably close to a year now) I was trying to come up with a solution to the lack of UV mapping tools in SketchUp. Sure, I could probably create a plugin that did the basics (cylindrical, spherical, planar, cubic, and some simple transformations) but it wasn't a complete solution. Complex organic shapes would still be impossible to map without implementing seam selection and a complex unwrapping algorithm.
So instead, I started experimenting with exporting/importing to external UV mapping software. I tried a few (Roadkill, Blender, Lithunwrap, and Ultimate Unwrap3D) and the one that was the easiest to implement, and had the most features was Ultimate Unwrap3D (U3D).
My plugin will export the selected faces to OBJ which is then imported into U3D to do the mapping. After you are done mapping, you just import the OBJ back into SketchUp using the plugin. However, only the UVs will be imported so the geometry in your scene will not be affected. (It also allows the import process to be quite fast)
The amount of tools in U3D is just awesome! It is a complete UV mapping package and the best one I have found. I'm afraid it does come with a price but it's not too steep. My plugin will most certainly be free, though.
This plugin has been sitting unfinished for a very long time. It is still not quite to the level that I would like but after reading over and over again about the complaints about the lack of UV mapping tools in SketchUP, I thought that I would spend a bit of time cleaning up the plugin and release it anyway. So, you can expect it to be released very soon, probably less than two weeks. (I hope
)[flash=425,344:7ryf9b18]http://www.youtube.com/v/oMVh-KSOHsw&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:7ryf9b18]
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oh my.
WANT
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whaat the?!
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That looks like fun
so many questions! -
Ah, you made a bridge to Ultimate Unwrap Pro? http://www.unwrap3d.com/u3d/index.aspx
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Ultra Violet
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It looks nice. When I saw a preview I thought you have split the SU window in half
I presume this should work also with other software, say Blender, which allows to save the UV-mapped OBJ model, am I right?Tomasz
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Whaat the...
This sure looks AWESOME...!!
Can you "spill some beans" and let us know anything about an expected date of release...??
Also... I assume that you already have an idea about the price for this...
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Would be great to have this functionality inside the SU without a external program.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
It looks to be inside Sketchup or am I missing something here?
You start out in SU, then it exports the geomtry to an external UVunwrap mapper, and then back to SU again.
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It looks to be inside Sketchup or am I missing something here?
Great work whaat! Looks very good.
Is it going to be free?
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With a quick look the unwrap3d do have a skp importer, but this is far better work flow.
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That's good enough for me
In the video the whole process seems to be working seamlessly. -
@kwistenbiebel said:
Is it going to be free?
Like Stinkie, I assume it won't be a "freebie"...
If it's really based on the UVunwrap mapper like Thomas is saying I'm certain it won't be free...
Unwrap 3D is in the 50-60 USD range, and although this might be a special SDK, I assume the price for the plug-in will be close to that price range...Only Whaat knows...
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If ever a plugin was worth forking out for this would be it.
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@frederik said:
@kwistenbiebel said:
Is it going to be free?
Like Stinkie, I assume it won't be a "freebie"...
If it's really based on the UVunwrap mapper like Thomas is saying I'm certain it won't be free...
Unwrap 3D is in the 50-60 USD range, and although this might be a special SDK, I assume the price for the plug-in will be close to that price range...Only Whaat knows...
I don't think it's a special SDK. Nor is it even "based" on Ultimate UVwrap. It is Ultimate UVwrap. The user would need Ultimate UVwrap - then this plugin acts as a bridge to transfer geometry back and forth. That's what it looked like from the video.
...so anyone in for a bet until Whaat gets here?
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Sweet!!
If it's a bridge, and free then I would hope Dale has a link for us users to purchase U3D where he can get some sort of commission. It would be only fair for both him and the company as this bridge opens up a huge market for them.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
If Whaat could also pay a visit to Asgvis, Next Limit and Glare Technology, we would finally see some decent Sketchup bridges appear for the mainstream render engines.
Easier said than done. They all have to deal with that Sketchup exposes in the API - which isn't always ideal.
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hold on.
won't this also mean you could create your model, UVmap it.. then instead of bring it back into SU, export it to another format right off?Unrwap's got an impressive list of formats it'll export to...
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